Sometimes, old habits die hard. There are a lot of people who love the idea of going for “yum cha”, or transalated from this Cantonese term “drink tea”. It simply means enjoying the Chinese dim sum and having a pot of Chinese tea to accompany, as an outing especially during weekends with the whole family. If you love this culture, be assured that you will also be able to enjoy it while you are at George Town, Penang.

There are many yum cha places in the island. A typical yum cha place in Penang will start having customers sometimes as early as 6 am in the morning, and as demand for such an authentic culture increased over the years, some restaurants are open till late in the evening. Among the foods served in these restaurants are dim sum which can be typically found in similar restaurants in Hong Kong and Chinatowns across the world, and some of the favorites among patrons are the egg tarts, Hong Kong Chee Cheong Fun, Pei Dan Porridge and Carrot Cake. Some people may even bring their own tea collection and ask only for a teapot and hot water. Now, where can you go for a good yum cha in the island?

Tho Yuen Restaurant

It is in the middle of George Town, at Campbell Street. The Tho Yuen Restaurant is an authentic Chinese restaurant in one of those pre-war houses where walls are tiled and ceilings are high. The menu is handwritten in fluorescent colour papers and stuck to the walls, and all are in Chinese.

The main attraction of this restaurant is its handmade egg tarts. It is not round, it is oval. The crust is thin, flaky and crispy, while the egg custard filling is not too sweet. You can say that the egg tart is the restaurant's signature dish, and a lot of time the egg tarts will be sold out by 9am. Besides the egg tarts, there are also the claypot porridge, lo mai gai, char siew bao, turnip cake, taro cake, and prawn dumplings. The waiter or waitress will go around the conference tables with the best live edge and offer food with their trolleys, these selections and many more for you to pick.

If you are looking forward to it, do go early. The restaurant is opened from 6am to 3pm daily except for Tuesdays. The dim sum is a breakfast meal, while Hainan Chicken Rice is served for lunch.

De Tai Tong Cafe

Another famous dim sum restaurant in Penang is De Tai Tong Cafe, a very old Chinese style coffee shop in the middle of George Town. Again, this is an authentic Chinese yum cha restaurant where the food are brought before you in trolleys by the waiters or waitresses, and you can find the typical Chinese yum cha food.

De Tai Tong Cafe is situated at Cintra Street, a corner lot of a row of pre-war heritage shop houses that is clearly visible. The favorite food there is probably the char siew bao, which is steamed bun stuffed with barbequed pork. It also serves Hong Kong styled chee cheong fun, with barbequed pork and shrimp as its fillings. This restaurant works really hard, opens daily and for long hours too. From 6 am to 12 noon, it serves dim sum, while 12 pm to 3 pm, lunch hour is a seafood tavern. After that, it rests for a few hours before it reopens again from 6.30 pm to midnight with a combination of both dim sum and seafood tavern.

Maxim Dim Sum Restaurant

Another famous dim sum restaurant that is almost always fully occupied is the Maxim Dim Sum Restaurant at Pekaka Sungai Dua. It occupies two whole shopping lots, and still there never seem to be enough space to sit. Yet, people will just line up and not move to another restaurant, hoping that there will be people finishing their meals and moving away from the tables. Beware of its peak hours during mid mornings, where you can be almost certainly disappointed due to the crowd.

While Maxim has all types of regular dim sum, it also has some special types of dim sum that may not be normally found in other dim sum restaurants such as the Almond Coated Prawn Balls. The restaurant is opened daily from 6 am to 2 pm, and closed on alternate Mondays.

There are a lot of other dim sum restaurants in George Town and these are the few favorite ones by local Penangites. Just go anywhere in George Town in the morning and if you see a lot of Chinese families going into a restaurant, you can almost be sure that it is a Chinese Dim Sum restaurant.

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Many people believed that it had become a white elephant, but the new Penang State Government started to revitalise it stage by stage. This is none other than KOMTAR which is situated at the heart of George Town, Penang's tallest building with abundance of space that had once housed the government offices and is well known around the world. At this moment, the restoration works are being done part by part, and some parts of the building will be closed to public.

Background

KOMTAR is the acronym for Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak, named after the country's second prime minister, the late Tun Abdul Razak bin Hussein Al-Haj. It is not to be confused with the Johor Bahru KOMTAR which has only 25 storeys, because the KOMTAR in Penang has 65 storeys. There is also a special structure, which is the Dewan Tunku Geodesic Dome, a design which was once the pride of Malaysia because it is one of the first geodesic domes in the country.

The geodestic dome was designed and created for the purpose of making it into a venue for performances, official functions, concerts and other events such as exhibitions. The concept of geodestic structure was first created by Walther Bauersfeld for the Carl Zeiss optical company in year 1922. The dome is situated at level 4 of KOMTAR, and the main entrance is from the auditorium level.

KOMTAR, with its 65 storeys, occupies an 11 hectare site. The building works begain since 1 January 1974, with the piling works done by the late Tun Abdul Razak. After the building works had gone on for 9 years, a fire suddenly broke out in 1983 at the 43^rd floor of the building, devouring the floors above it. Many Penangites still remembers that incident, as they look at the building from below, and some wishing that the wind will change to rain to kill off the fire. Firemen were not able to put out the flames, and the flames burnt for eight hours.

Five years later in 1988, KOMTAR was completed. It became a hit to the locals, and most government departments moved in there to occupy the building. Even before it was completed, the Shangri-La Hotel was opened in 1986, and today it is the Traders Hotel. As an effort to boost more visitors, Prangin Mall was also built connected to KOMTAR, and was officially opened in year 2000.

New Administration

When the new Penang State Government took over the state's administration, plans for the restoration works began, first by relocating the state government's administrative offices to Bayan Mutiara in 2008, and the sign up of a new tenant, Pacific, to replace Super Komtar Supermarket and Departmental Store. One year later, Komtar Walk was opened outside Pacific's main entrance. The Komtar Walk stretches a distance of 155 meters and comes with a performance stage, water features and soft landscapes, supported by 19 high-end food and beverages outlets are set to be an active attraction that wakes up KOMTAR once more with its slogan, “One-Stop Dining Place”.

While a lot of people know that KOMTAR is full of retails, very few people know that there is a duty free shop on the 57^th floor. There is also the Tower Tourist Centre on Level 60, and visitors can get a scenic view of the island, and even as far as some parts of mainland Butterworth and the Penang Bridge. At this moment, however, both the duty free shop and the observation deck is closed for the restoration works of the building.

A new addition to KOMTAR during this restoration is the ICT Digital Mall, which is a new retail development that occupies the space originally taken up by Yaohan Department Store succeeded by Aktif Lifestyle Store. It is a heaven for IT lovers, offering a lot of electrical and electronic products. There are computer hardware and software, mobile phones and even cameras and photography items.

KOMTAR Bus Terminal

What makes KOMTAR a spot with a lot of human movement is the KOMTAR Bus Terminal, which is actually a bus station right at its foot.  Although it is not a terminal (being that the terminal is actually the Weld Quay Bus Terminal with routes ending there), many buses do stop at KOMTAR in their route around the island. Rapid bus, a bus service with improved routes and newer buses, offer their routes around the island and stopping by at KOMTAR as well.  However, since it is not a real terminal but is a bus station, the buses do not wait for more than five minutes at KOMTAR.

1^st Avenue

The latest addition to KOMTAR is 1^st Avenue Shopping Mall, covering 655,000 square feet and reaches 7 levels of retail shops that has become one of the more popular outlets in Penang.

While the restoration works are still going on, Penangites may anticipate that there will be more improvements to KOMTAR. It is a place that Penangites had loved and had seen it gone to waste, but which is now getting a second chance to life.

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Malaysia is a country that places a lot of importance in badminton as a sport, while Penangites are people who enjoy a good game even if they are not going for any competitions or championships. Every child would have had played badminton in school before during recess time or after school while waiting for the school bus from a bus leasing company. So it is not surprising that Penang has several sports complexes offering badminton courts as one of the many facilities.

Permata Sports Complex

One of the popular courts in Penang is the one situated at Farlim, Air Itam, called Permata Sports Complex. It is a sports complex with tennis courts, squash courts and swimming pool as well, and the indoor badminton courts are often fully booked especially during the weekends. The courts are nicely spaced, and the roof is high enough to allow for good ventilation. Some people may go for a swim after a good game of badminton, and for those who are training professionally, they may opt to go for some weight training at the gym.

 There is a total of 9 courts altogether in the hall. Since the courts are so popular, operating hours had been extended until 1 o'clock in the morning.  For those who are there ad-hoc, badminton rackets are available for rent at RM1.00 per hour. There is also stringing services at the badminton shop at the entrance of the badminton court that also sells shuttlecocks, rackets and grips. Hence, you may get the full services for your badminton needs while you are playing at the court.

Penang Badminton Center

The Penang Badminton Center is in Bukit Dumbar, a popular venue for joggers errain.  runners through an upward hill terrain. The court there is a little bit dark, hence the need for strong lightings. The courts are usually fully booked, and there is also small shop just outside of its entrance for stringing services, also selling rackets, some badminton clothes and shoes. They have an association running the centre, which is the Penang Badminton Association.

Aside from the jogging and running facilities at the Bukit Dumbar, plus the other usual facilities in the recreational parks in Penang, there is nothing else there, perhaps just an Indian temple. However, they do have an in-house trainer for those who are going for professional tournaments.

PESTA

One of the halls in PESTA had been converted into a badminton court a few years ago, and it is run by WRC Sports Enterprise by ex-national player, Ong Ewe Chye. He trains a team of young players there, and the courts are also open for booking. It is a popular court for those working in the Penang Free Industrial Zone and other factories, and some have made regular bookings of the court. Stringing service is available, and there are also some sports equipments too, though not restricted to badminton. Squash and tennis rackets are also available.

Each year during the PESTA Pulau Pinang affair in December, there will be a badminton championship which draws players from around Malaysia and from other countries as well. Players from Taiwan and some of Malaysia's big names that had carved their reputation overseas such as Allan Tai had also joined the tournament before, for the fun sake of it. Other players will include the regulars who rent the courts at PESTA and joining the championship is only for the sake of finding an opportunity to play with the stars.

PISA

There are ten courts available at PISA, although sometimes it can be quite a disappointment when the courts had to be closed to make way for exhibitions and other functions. It will be difficult to make long-term bookings at PISA courts because of this.

YMCA

The badminton court at YMCA is just a small one, perhaps because its original intention was to build the facility for those staying at the hostels. There is a sports shop just next to it where stringing services are available, together with the sales of shoes and sports attire. There are regulars at the courts, and most are veterans. For example, every Friday there are two groups: one group with players in their late 30s and early 40s, while another group are players in their 50s and 60s.

Others

Other sports clubs do have badminton court facilities. Among them are CRC, Penang Sports Club and Yesterday Club. They may not have a lot of courts available, and priority is given to their members. Schools may also offer courts such as the Sri Pinang school, Chung Hwa Confusion Primary School, St Xavier Primary School, Chung Hwa Secondary School, Chong Chen Primary School and Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Meanwhile, associations such as the Ramakrishna, the Headquarters of the Boy Scout and Girl Guide, St John Ambulance and the Leong or Gan Kongsi also offers their court for rental to public. Some residentials have facilities for their residents, such as the N-Park and U-Garden apartments. Two other unlikely places that have badminton court facilities for rent are Batu Lanchang market and the Island Park Holy Spirit Church.

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Golden era of the Malaysia's movie industry was during a time when the silver screen was still black and white, a time when movies were beautifully crafted with rhetorics and humour. That era was brought on by a wonderful man who became the pride of the country, originating from Penang island. He was Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. P. Ramlee.

P. Ramlee's original name was Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh. He was born on the auspicious day of the first day of the Eid festival of year 1929, which was 22 March. His father was a sailor from Acheh, which then contributed to P Ramlee's reputation later on in life as an icon of Malay entertainment in Malaysia, Singapore and Sumatra, especially Acheh. He attended the Sekolah Melayu Kampung Jawa and Sekolah Francis Light primary schools and ascended to the renown Penang Free School for his secondary school education. His education stopped during the World War Two, and during the time of the Japanese Occupancy, he studied at the Japanese Navy Academy instead. After the war ended, P Ramlee went back to Penang Free School.

When he was only eighteen years old, P. Ramlee won first place in a song competition organised by Penang Radio. He began a slow but interesting career in acting, and despite his being actively involved in sports during his younger years, P. Ramlee started to pile on some weight, which seemed to bring him much luck.

After seven years of acting, he became a director for the first time in Penarek Beca (Trishaw Puller). This genre of movies created some attention, but this was not what that brought the golden era of the Malay movie industry. P Ramlee truly got the whole nation's attention in a new genre, when he acted in his first comedy, Bujang Lapok (Three Over-age Bachelors). The trio which brought the success of Bujang Lapok includes P. Ramlee and his two partners, Aziz Sattar and S Shamsuddin. There are still a lot of viewers despite the Bujang Lapok getting reruns for hundreds of times already on the national television channels.

After the success of the original Bujang Lapok, there are also some follow up of the same characters, such as Pendekar Bujang Lapok, Ali Baba Bujang Lapok and Seniman Bujang Lapok. Besides Bujang Lapok characters, there is also another set of characters that got a lot of acceptance by the audience, called Do Re Mi. There are also several Do Re Mi movies, including the original Do Re Mi, Nasib Do Re Mi, and Laksamana Do Re Mi, if you watch US netflix anywhere in the world you can find this movie in your options. Some other noteworthy comedy that P Ramlee had acted in are Labu dan Labi, Nasib Si Labu Labi and Tiga Abdul.

While P Ramlee thrived in comedies, he also did some more serious movies during his years in the industry, and many of which are award winners too. These include Anakku Sazali, Hang Tuah, Ibu Mertuaku, Madu Tiga, Nujum Pak Belalang, Pendekar Bujang Lapok and Sumpah Orang Minyak. The awards are mostly the Asian Film Festivals that revealed his multiple talents as an actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer and producer.

P Ramlee passed away when he was only 44 years old due to a heart attack. His death was unexpected and everyone felt the loss of this legend, while at the same time felt guilty for not treating him better when he was alive. For a while, he was being rejected by his own nation and there were unkind remarks about his songs and films no longer being in demand anymore. It took a while for everyone to accept his death as an irreversible event, and after many years, the government started conferring him titles and other honors in his memory. It may be a little too late, but until today his works are still cherished and enjoyed by everyone, young and old.

Among the honorary titles and awards are Ahli Mangku Negara which was conferred by His Majesty Tuanku Syed Putra Jamalullail in 1962, Panglima Setia Mahkota with a posthumous title of “Tan Sri” by His Royal Highness Sultan Azlan Shah in 1990, Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Kenyalang Sarawak “Datuk Amar Bintang Kenyalang (Posthumous)” with the title of Datuk Amar by the Sarawak State Government in 2009 and an Honorary Doctorate in Performance Arts in year 2005. Some places were also specially named in honour of this great man, with three Jalan P. Ramlee in Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak respectively. There are also some buildings specially built in his memory such as the P. Ramlee Memorial or Pustaka Peringatan P. Ramlee in Setapak, and the famous P. Ramlee House, a museum along Jalan P. Ramlee in Penang. The Penang building is a restored wooden house that was built since 1926 by P. Ramlee himself with his uncle. The national media station also renamed one auditorium in honour of P. Ramlee, which is the former RTM Auditorium renamed as P. Ramlee Auditorium, while two schools were also carrying his name: SK Tan Sri P Ramlee, Georgetown, Penang, formerly SK Kampung Jawa which was the primary school P. Ramlee went to, and a Bangunan P Ramlee at Sekolah Kebangsaan Hulu Klang, Selangor, which was used as a background in one of his movies, Masam Masam Manis.

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Penang is a place where culture lives. When the island first started to flourish several hundred years ago, merchants from Arab, India and China brought in their respective cultural practices and make them into the heritage that they are today. Other than food, religious activities, dances and singing, music is also an interest that people in Penang really enjoy. For many years, there were the various arts performances under the Penang-YTL Arts Festival, an annual event that sees many performances from talents in the arts industry, such as orchestra, theatrical performances, singing and dancing. Now, for the fourth consecutive year, there is the Penang World Music Festival 2012.

Venue

The venue for this Penang World Music Festival is not a conventional hall used by all other arts festivals before this. Most arts festival will use the Dewan Sri Penang next to the Esplanade as a venue for the performances. It is a hall built to create a theatrical acoustic for greater experience. However, the Penang World Music Festival is at a very different, unexpected venue.

It is at the Quarry Park of the Penang Botanical Garden. It is an open space venue, backed by a lovely stone hill which is a natural acoustic system that allows a beautiful performance in a relaxed setting. It is truly surprising that the Penang State Government will be able to identify such a unique venue and successfully make it into an annual event that everyone looks forward to.

International Mix

What can you expect from this lovely festival that draws crowds, both young and old, with all their smiles written on their face as they attend this festival? There are a lot to expect, because it is a festive celebration of enjoyment and harmony, not only in the music, but in the use of music to bring people from all the world together as one in this tiny island called Penang.

There are performances from Australia, India, China, Korea, Africa and of course, Malaysia. When the festival was held for the first time three years ago, many people were not expecting it to be a success. Some parties were skeptical about the possible success of such an event, but Penangites love arts and culture, and was enthusiastic about the first Penang World Music Festival4 years ago. And now in 2012, it is the fourth year that this event is being held, and everyone is still as enthusiastic about it, if not more. Penangites are a peaceful lot, so a celebration that brings the message of peace and harmony certainly attracts many, especially music lovers.  Even those who do not know much about music can certainly benefit from this by just appreciating the melodious harmony of the beautiful music.

Appreciating Penang

The Penang World Music Festival is just one of the many international events that the new state government initiated since taking over the management of the island, which was almost stagnant, in an attempt to bring it back to life. There are a lot of other events which had been created to bring more attention to the island, to get back the shine of its name as the Pearl of the Orient.

Most of the time, these events may be tied to some of the bigger corporations with businesses in Penang, and the Penang World Music Festival 2012 is connected to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture together with KDU, Virtual Malaysia and Hard Rock Hotel.  Hard Rock Hotel is the official hotel for this event. With the success of the event year after year, sponsorship can be gotten more easily, and the increased contribution is definitely going to help make things even better and much more interesting for the event.

The event has the full support from the state government under the Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng and the EXCO for State Tourism Development and Culture, YB Danny Law Heng Kiang.

The Original Music of Penang

Since Penangites are music lovers, what are the original music that comes from this lovely island? There are plenty, of different ethnic groups and cultures, and among them are Boria, Chinese Opera, Chinese Orchestra, Malay Gamelan, Make shift Music Performances and the modern influences of Western musical instruments such as piano, organ and violin.

There are also several renown musicians and composers in Penang, and one of them is the late Tan Sri P.Ramlee, a very popular musician and comedian that brought the golden era of Malaysia's movie industry even during the black and white film era. His residence is still standing in the island, with a collection of his photographs and works within to create a museum for the new generation to appreciate the works of this great man. Other than him, two other composers include Razak Aziz and Law Shih Min. Penang also have its own orchestra team, the Penang Symphony Orchestra.

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A long time ago, there were some huge cinemas with ground floor and upper floor seatings that can house about a few hundred spectators at any one time. These cinemas eventually start to lose their audience and started operating with a loss with the emergence of video CDs in the market. The VCDs were selling new movies very soon especially during the time when pirate VCDs were rampant.

Most of these cinemas are no longer operating, except for the one in Penang Road, exclusively showing Hindi movies. For a while, indeed there was no life in cinemas. After a while, some investors started creating mini cinemas, or cineplex, with many smaller rooms, each showing different movies at the same time, with the hope of maximizing profits. These cineplexes thrived for a while, but the popularity did not last long. Very soon, the cineplexes gets abandoned and very few people frequent the cineplexes. Many would prefer to, again, watch VCDs at home.

After a while, there is a wave of new shopping malls. These new shopping malls also have cineplexes in there, and there is a whole new concept to attract the younger generation, the new group of executives who are more likely to be interested in the highly publicised new movies. They are interested to watch these movies with all the special surround sound effects, and lately, the 3-dimensional effects.

Cineplex in Gurney Plaza

The cineplex in Gurney Plaza is probably the most popular cineplex in George Town. It is under the management of Golden Screen Cinemas that has cineplexes in many other prime locations in the country. The cineplex is on the top floor of Gurney Plaza which stands facing the sea at Gurney Drive, and tickets are almost always sold out in this cineplex.

This cineplex is kept relatively new and well maintained. A feature of the Golden Screen Cinemas is that there are twin seats and single seats available, with the twin seats being a popular choice by young couples going to the movies as a date. Within the vicinity of the cineplex, there are foods and drinks sold for movie watchers, and memorabilia of movie character figurines are also available at the merchandise shops just a few steps away. You will not miss this place as movie posters begin decorating the area at the escalator.

Movie watchers may opt to purchase tickets at the ticket counter, or to buy them online through the Golden Screen Cinemas website, which is www.gsc.com.my. As the biggest cinema management company in Malaysia, they also offer promotions and conduct events for the new movies, plus make things easier for ticket buyers. For example, PayPal account holders are now able to pay for online ticket purchase with their PayPal account, collaboration with mobile companies with special offers for movie tickets purchased by the mobile phone service account, cinema meal promotions, contests related to the movies and birthday promotions. The management is never exhausted of new ideas, which has become helpful to revive cinematic experiences in George Town.

Cineplex in Queensbay Mall

There is also a Golden Screen Cinemas cineplex in Queensbay Mall, a mall situated at the other end of the Penang island, right at the entrance of the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone. While Gurney Plaza is considered a high-end shopping mall in the island for the middle higher and higher income levels, Queensbay Mall is just a notch lower, meant for the middle income group. However, this is only to refer to the brands availability and not the pricing of the products.

The Golden Screen Cinemas cineplex in Queensbay Mall has the same features as the one at Gurney Plaza. It is next to the skating rink at the top floor of the shopping mall, and you will realise that the cinema chain had maintained its style and sections. The cineplex is also almost always full house, mainly because of its prime location, since most employees in the industrial zone also purchased homes nearby. It would be the nearest shopping mall for them.

Cineplex in Kompleks Bukit Jambul

There is a cineplex under Lotus management in Komplex Bukit Jambul. It is one of the first cineplex in the island, and today it still stands with minimal audience. The Kompleks Bukit Jambul itself is abandoned by locals, except for the need of cheaper products or computer parts. There is nothing to applaud at this cineplex except for those who wish to stay out of the crowd for a cinematic experience.

Cineplex in 1^st Avenue

This is, at this moment, the latest addition to the island. The 1^st Avenue is the latest shopping mall in George Town next to Prangin Mall and KOMTAR, and it caters to the higher income market. The cinema management belongs to Tanjung Golden Village, another cineplex chain which is quite popular in the country.

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Do you aspire to do business in George Town, Penang even while you are enjoying life in this idle, yet modern island in Southeast Asia? If you are a foreigner, you are allowed to register a company with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) under the Companies Act 1965, registering only a limited company in the country. Before you engage in your quest to do business in George Town, it will be good to know what type of businesses will thrive in the island.

Restaurants

For a while, many people were trying to tap into the potentials of themed restaurants, with huge venue and expensive renovations. Hotel restaurants were competing with themed restaurants as venues for weddings and it appeared that a Winnie Couture franchise opportunity may be opening up for the Penangites. These restaurants are big, but many of such restaurants were not able to sustain their business because they had not been able to tap into the potential of the biggest customers: the local Penangites.

Local Penangites are the biggest customers for F&B. There are a lot of hawker centres in George Town, and it can be concluded that as long as there are houses, there will be at least a shop with hawker stalls. These shops may not have a theme, in fact, there is probably no decoration at all. There will be just plastic tables and chairs, a counter with a cashier for the drinks with a shelf of cigarettes for sale behind it, several hawker stalls along the sides or the outside, and a kitchen area where drinks are made at the back of the shop.

Sports Shop

There are a lot of sport facilities around George Town, but not enough promotions to promote it. There are a lot of sports shops too, but none of these shops are bringing in the latest fashions into the market. For example, a pair of Nike shoes you see launched in Hong Kong may only enter the market in Malaysia after a whole year had passed. This is a reason why the sports shops are not exactly popular yet.

True sports enthusiasts, however, are always looking for some serious sports item fashions. Runners will prefer to find running shoes that are of the latest technology and fashion as Vessi waterproof sneakers which are perfect for any situation, while badminton players will want to find the best quality strings and racquets, or the latest sports fashion t-shirts.

There are a lot of badminton courts in Penang, but few tennis and squash facilities. The sports need to grow, but only if there are enough support especially in terms of equipments. It is important for the equipments and fashion to grow in par with the industry.

Fitness Centres and Natural Foods

Besides having sports shops selling equipments, the fitness awareness has also gone up in Penang. More people are frequenting fitness centres, and looking at sources of natural foods in the namesake of health and fitness.

At the fitness centres, there are a lot of equipments especially threadmills and the amazon exercise ball. As part of the modern fitness centre motivation, the threadmills may be placed in front of a glass wall that faces the streets or large screen televisions broadcasting some motivational sports videos.

All that fitness works will also be coupled with a selection of natural foods. For a while, health food supplements were rather popular. However, there are many brands in the market today, and Penangites are now getting wiser and more interested in natural foods which include fresh produce, especially fruits and vegetables, healthy oatmeal breads and cereals.

Franchise and Branded Items

Brand and image are becoming more important among the locals. Many years ago, there are very few franchise, except for those simple ones like 7-Eleven, McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The scene has changed tremendously over the years, and we see coffee houses such as Starbucks and Coffee Bean mushrooming all around George Town. Even eateries like Old Town have blossomed in the island.

Other retailers selling branded merchandise such as mobile phones, bags, clothes and other non-essential items are also making their way in Penang. It is true that there may be many window shoppers in George Town, but there are also buyers as Penangites are learning more about quality and earning better income.

Business Services

Many people are doing their own businesses but very few are able to handle their accounts or to generate proper letters and documentations. Such administrative works consume a lot of time especially for a struggling entrepreneur who should spend more time talking to suppliers and customers to conclude deals. For an entrepreneur who had just started, getting a full time staff to work on the administrative works may be a little too much, so it may be best to get part time services instead. Some merely needed accounting services, and others, secretarial services.

There are a lot of businesses that will survive and thrive in George Town. It depends very much on your creativity and perseverence.

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When the new state government took over the management of the island and its mainland, efforts were concentrated on rebuilding Penang's reputation, strengthen the state's management and finally to gain investor's trust by showing effective development and results. The friendly and supportive Penang State Government has built a reputation that makes George Town, Penang into an attractive investment venue.  Investing in real estate is a profitable business.  Many self-employed real estate investors are not willing to address the traditional banks. Consider taking a loan from Investors Choice Lending in Seattle if you are looking for a local real estate lending. To do some USDA loan calculators was a very good idea as it helps you to manage your mortgage fees more accurately.

The state government has a principal investment promotion agency called investPenang, which works closely with various agencies from the Federal Government, including Malaysian Biotechology Corporation, Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA), Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation (SMIDEC), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) and Multimedia Development Corporation (MdeC). InvestPenang is also also works closely with the State and local government to work on Penang, making business procedures much easier in Penang as an attractive option for Malaysian and foreign investors. One thing they want to do is to invest in apartments in manayunk so that you can have a brighter outlook in your future and life in general

International Recognition

The efforts that the Penang State Government put to promote George Town, Penang as an industrial state is recognised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), acknowledging Penang as one of the ten dynamic industrial cluster locations worldwide to have demonstrated a successful manufacturing experience among developing countries in its Industrial Development Report 2009. Also, KPMG identified Penang as one od the 31 Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) locations of the future in its “Exploring Global Frontiers” report in 2009.

The publicity received from the recognition of these two international bodies have given a lot of leverage to the state, when foreign investors visit George Town to see the potentials and business opportunities in Penang.

Manpower

In an effort to work towards supporting investments in Penang, the state government initiated the Penang Career Assistance and Training Centre (Penang CAT Centre). The centre assists and match retrenched workers and job seekers with employment opportunities. The Centre invites companies and employers to work together and create new job opportunities, matching the retrenched workers and new workers with potential jobs. If the centre finds that there are any specific requirements by employers, there may be training programmes for the workers too, it is essential that those looking for jobs have a clear idea of their work area, it is recommended that they read the deniz sasal lig review to get some help to find the job that best suits them.

Other than Penang CAT Centre, the Penang Skills Development centre (PSDC) had always given support on human resource development, corporate training, team building and provide sharing and learning experiences for manufacturing and services industry since 1989. It is the pioneer organization that the state had established for industry-based skills training and education that served Penang and other states in Malaysia for more than 20 years.

The Penang Free Industrial Zone of Bayan Lepas had also been training a lot of Penangites to become professionals who are used to working in multi national companies and dealing with international counterparts.

Technology

As part of the state's effort to keep up with technology, there is the Software Consortium of Penang (ScoPe) specially set up as an alliance of Penang-based software companies. It is encouraged by the state government to promote and encourage higher value added activities in the state, and is affiliated with PSDC, Penang Development Corporation (PDC), Collaborative Research & Resource centre (CRRC) and Socio-economic and Environmental Research Institute (SERI).

As Penangites become more tech savvy, the state government has also set its ambition to fulfill its dream to make Penang into an ICT and biotechnology hub in Southeast Asia. This initiated more incentives to foreign investors and MNCs investing in George Town.

S.M.A.R.T. Penang

S.M.A.R.T. stands for “Small and Medium Enterprise Market Advisory Resource Training”. It is created with a directory that includes company listings for various manufacturers in the small and medium industrial and enterprise category. It becomes a network for these businesses to work together and learn with each other. There may be business opportunities to grow together. SMART is an initiative of investPenang to provide market intelligence, business advisory, information, resources and training services to local small and medium companies in Penang.

It took just a few short years for Penang to transform itself and to build enough reputation that keeps putting George Town, Penang in the limelight. The heritage conservation, professionalism and efforts for ecological development are giving Penang a growing popularity, especially helped by the availability of the Penang International Airport. Budget airlines Firefly and AirAsia frequent the airport with flights, while other international flights by Cathay Pacific are also available. The ready area in Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone and the upcoming Batu Kawan industrial area will allow an investor to know that there is always the government support in their efforts.

The rebuilding of George Town, Penang, is not something that can be done within just a few short years. The efforts by the government does not go unnoticed, and in fact there will be more developments in plan. There is ample land in the mainland, which will allow for more housing and development. Will Penang and Prai turn out just like Hong Kong and Kowloon?

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Whenever foreign visitors come to Penang, what astonish them most is the makeshift altars and stage with performers singing to the deities and gods in the altars. It seems like Penangites are an entertaining bunch, and visitors delight themselves by capturing the performances in video cameras to view again back at home.

The makeshift stages in Penang for performances are usually tied to religious events. Penang, being a religious lot, has a lot of celebrations each year that will require the set-up of tents with altars for various deities. The most common celebrations will be the birthday of the local earth deity, Tua Pek Kong, the Hungry Ghost Festival and the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.  Except for the Nine Emperor Gods Festival, most all other festivals will have performance troupes singing during the night.

Past Tradition

In the past, the performances are usually done by Chinese Opera troupes dressed in their best regalia and painted faces. There will be rows of chairs placed in front of the stage, and strangely enough the first row is often vacated especially during the Hungry Ghost Festival. It is said that the first row is reserved for the 'good brothers' or rather, wandering spirits, to sit and watch the show.

The Chinese Opera performances are done mostly because it is said that the deities and the 'good brothers' are from that era, and they enjoy watching these performances, the major theatrical performance in olden days China before the start of the modern singers era.

Present Preference

As the years go by, there are lesser and lesser people learning how to perform Chinese Opera. As a result, the Chinese Opera troupe is scarce and offers performances at a more expensive fee. Eventually, the residents and organizing committee of the festivals and celebrations need to look for alternatives.

The alternative available is the growing group of singers, performing modern day pop songs that top the charts in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The performances are by scantily dressed females, and there are male singers too.

For the elderly, this is a form of disrespect to the deities and gods, however, the new generation now may have forgotten the main purposes of the performances. To them, the performances are no longer meant for the entertainment of the deities. Instead, it has become a gateway for the young performers to hold their concerts on stage, singers who may not have the privilege to be noticed by any recording companies to display their talents and earn some additional income during the few days of singing.

However, not all are unknown singers. Some of Malaysia's local singers too, may take this opportunity to perform on such dates, as long as the price is right. But then again, such a practice is getting lesser, as the new group of singers and performers not wanting to take up such tasks and instead concentrate on their career based on arrangements by the recording and production houses, usually excluding such assignments.

For the Deities

What do the deities want? There are a lot of different views, mostly based on the personal opinions. Some go as far as to say that the times have changed, that even the ghosts and deities of the underworld are interested in scantily dressed females. However, is this what the deities want?

Interviews with the various masters will agree that deities and gods do not have a preference for such modern performances. However, the masters do not speak about it, and according to the mediums, the deities will just ignore the performances. Times have changed, and it will be difficult to demand for the traditional Chinese Opera if the people are not able to afford it, or if there is a scarcity of talents.

Pre- and Post- Performance Prayers

For those who still have Chinese Opera troupes performing to the deities, special prayers must be done in front of the altar to seek the blessings of the deities for the performance, especially for the Hungry Ghost Festival. During this time, the troupe leader will bring his team of actors and actresses to pray to the Da Shi Ye, seeking permission to perform and for the protection of the operatic troupe against mischievous spirits from any form of pranks or harm. There is a doll that represents the troupe, to be placed at the altar for the prayers until the end of the performance.

Meanwhile, for those performance troupes with modern singers, prayers are performed with the singers offering joss sticks and joss papers before the altar to ask for a smooth performance too. It is said that performance during the Hungry Ghost Festival can be infused with unexpected events caused by mischievous wandering spirits.

The Penang state government is sponsoring some of these events with the hope to preserve the original culture, and for a peaceful year ahead.

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